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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27426658">I've Got Soul, But I'm Not A Soldier</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/writesometimes/pseuds/writesometimes'>writesometimes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Domestic Din [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cobb Vanth and Din Djarin have huge crushes on one another, Cobb Vanth is a sucker for the child and his dad, Fluff, M/M, Subtle flirting, the briefest of bed sharing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:20:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27426658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/writesometimes/pseuds/writesometimes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Din returns to Tatooine seeking more information on the armor he'd recovered from Cobb Vanth. The Marshal offers him what help he can.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Domestic Din [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019953</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>411</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I've Got Soul, But I'm Not A Soldier</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The heat on Tatooine was just as oppressive as Din remembered, baking his skin beneath his Beskar. He trudged on through the sand anyway, the child sitting quietly in the pack slung across his shoulders. His leads on fellow Mandalorians had dried up and, deciding he had few other options, Din had opted to return to Tatooine to find out more about the armor one Cobb Vanth had been in possession of. Logic dictated that if the Jawas had gotten a hold of it, then its true owner had to have been around the area at some point. Why not go back, try to find out more about the circumstances surrounding the armor's initial discovery. <br/>
<br/>
If such a trip should lead Din to Mos Pelgo, back to darkening Vanth's cantina doorway, so be it. Din could handle the Marshal just fine. Wasn't like he'd spent the last months stewing about the cockpit of the <em>Crest</em> thinking about the man's easy smile or what his profile had looked like illuminated by the Tuskens' campfire in the desert. That would have been foolish. <br/>
<br/>
By the time he reached the cantina, Din regretted parking the speeder at the edge of town. He hadn't wanted to alarm the townsfolk, but now he was second guessing his apprehensions as sweat beaded down his face, across his chest. He sighed in relief as he finally walked into the cantina, the shade instantly providing some relief from the unrelenting suns of the planet. The place was mostly empty save for a few people off in the back. <br/>
<br/>
The bartender barely glanced at him before he smirked and looked over to a dark corner of the bar. Din's eyes followed, spying a familiar shock of salt-and-pepper hair in the shadows. Din tilted his head toward the bar before he sauntered over, claiming an empty stool. The bartender nodded at him once before he seemingly decided to go on break, ducking out the back door quietly. <br/>
<br/>
Din pulled the child out of his rucksack and set him up on the bar. "Behave," he instructed seriously. The child babbled happily, looking around with his wide eyes. Din sighed and pulled the silver ball he was obsessed with out of the rucksack and handed it over. The child sat down with a happy coo and began rolling the ball across the smooth bar top. <br/>
<br/>
"Wasn't expecting you back here so soon," a familiar voice drawled behind Din.<br/>
<br/>
"Didn't expect to be back so soon," Din replied, smiling to himself as he turned and watched Cobb strut through the cantina to the bar. <br/>
<br/>
Cobb reached over the bar, grabbed a bottle of spotchka, and poured himself a glass. "So, what brings you back to this little corner of Tatooine?" He smirked at Din as he downed half his glass in one go. <br/>
<br/>
"I'm looking for more information about the armor you had," Din replied, studying Cobb intently. He looked different without the bulky Beskar settled on his chest. Din stared at his lanky form for a moment, his narrow hips and broad shoulders, before he refocused his attention on the child.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb nodded slowly and finished his spotchka. "I told you, I got it off some Jawas. Where they got it from, who knows?" He shrugged and fixed Din with a small grin.<br/>
<br/>
Din took a deep breath and pulled his eyes from Cobb's lips. "That's why I figured I'd ask the Jawas about it," he countered smartly.<br/>
<br/>
"They're sorta mean little fellas," Cobb chuckled, pouring himself another half-glass of spotchka. "You'd have better luck getting information out of your Tusken friends."<br/>
<br/>
Din reached out and caught the child's little ball before it could roll off the bar.  "I've had dealings with the Jawas before."<br/>
<br/>
"'Course you have," Cobb laughed and shook his head. "They're not exactly easy to find, always on the move in that... contraption of theirs."<br/>
<br/>
"That's why I came here first. Figured the Marshal of Mos Pelgo might be able to point me in the right direction." Din smiled beneath his helmet as Cobb ducked his head coyly. <br/>
<br/>
"Well, wish I could help you out but I haven't heard anything about the Jawas in some time." Cobb placed the bottle of spotchka back behind the bar and tilted his head as he studied Din. "Anything else I might help you with?" he asked with an easy smile.<br/>
<br/>
Din swallowed a lump in his throat and shifted on the stool. He stared silently at the Marshal, focusing on the way his eyes lit up as he smiled.<br/>
<br/>
"You two have a place to crash for the night?" Cobb asked, nodding toward the child.<br/>
<br/>
"No," Din said simply.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't have a grand estate or nothin' but you're more than welcome to come by, have a hot meal and a warm place to sleep for the night. Can get pretty cold outside in the desert at night." Cobb hooked his thumbs through his belt loops and glanced at his feet.<br/>
<br/>
"You sure you want a full house for the evening? He can be quite a handful at bedtime." Din nodded at the child where he sat on the bar, blinking at the two men. <br/>
<br/>
Cobb leaned his hip against the bar and shot Din a wide, sly grin. "I'm fond of the little guy," he said, reaching out and stroking a finger across one of the child's long ears.<br/>
<br/>
Din smiled beneath his helmet. "He seems to be quite popular."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, you know, someone's gotta make up for your complete lack of charm," Cobb laughed, his eyes crinkling in the corners.<br/>
<br/>
Din shook his head and leaned his elbows on the bar. "And yet, you don't have anyone tailing you around, making up for yours."<br/>
<br/>
"No, that's what the Maker gifted me with this dazzling smile for." Cobb gave Din a wide, roguish grin.  <br/>
<br/>
Din sighed, his smile growing under his Beskar. The child cooed gently, looking between Din and Cobb. "Suppose he wouldn't mind a hot meal." Din patted the child on the head.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb chuckled and removed his hip from the bar. He smiled fondly at the child and nodded. "Better get a move on then, suns set quickly around here." He turned from the bar and headed for the door of the cantina.<br/>
<br/>
Din quickly wrangled the child back into his rucksack and followed Cobb out the cantina door. The suns were indeed already beginning their descent, and it had cooled a bit. Din gave silent thanks as he fell into step beside Cobb and strolled through the small town.<br/>
<br/>
"At least your armor is cleaner than it was the last time I saw you," Cobb huffed a laugh through his nose as light from the setting suns glinted off Din's Beskar. <br/>
<br/>
"Well, I haven't exactly found myself inside anymore krayt dragons since our last encounter." Din looked over at Cobb and watched the smile grow across his face. <br/>
<br/>
"Probably a good thing," Cobb reasoned. <br/>
<br/>
A Tusken crossed their path and gestured a passing greeting to both men. "Things are still going well between your people and the Tuskens?" Din asked as he and Cobb continued to stroll leisurely through the sand. <br/>
<br/>
"Thanks to you, yes." Cobb nodded, an amused smile tugging at his lips as he glanced over at Din.<br/>
<br/>
Din reached down and patted the child's head where he sat in the rucksack, waving enthusiastically back at the Tusken. He stared at Cobb's smiling face from behind his helmet as the man walked along beside him.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb abruptly came to a stop in front of one of the typical Tatooine-style homes littering Mos Pelgo and opened the door. He gestured for Din to follow him as he made his way down the stairs that led into the rest of the subterranean home. Din went silently, the child popping his head up out of the rucksack and looking about as they entered Cobb's humble home. <br/>
<br/>
The space was... intimate was the word that came to Din's mind. The lighting was soft and warm and almost made up for the fact that the place would never really get any actual sunlight. A kitchen area took up the back of the space, complete with a small table and two chairs. The living space featured a few worn chairs around a soft rug, all centered around a large, full bookcase. A room off to the right contained a bed and dresser. There was a small bathroom between the living space and the kitchen. Throughout the space little photos and illustrations dotted the walls, trinkets were strewn about almost every flat surface. <br/>
<br/>
Cobb bent down and pulled a small blaster from his left boot and placed it up on the kitchen counter. Din cocked his head to the side and stared silently. <br/>
<br/>
"You sorta left me... <em>exposed</em> during your last visit. Had to make up for the loss of armor somehow," Cobb offered as he pulled his boots off and set them beside the bookcase. "You can let the little guy out, he'll be fine. I can feed him if you'd like to have a shower or somethin'. Can't be comfortable trudging around in the sand and sun all day under a full suit of Beskar."<br/>
<br/>
Din watched Cobb move about the kitchen for minute, throwing a few things together and pressing buttons here and there, before he lifted the child out of the rucksack. "Be good," he whispered as he placed the child on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. <br/>
<br/>
"You'll be fine, won't yah kid?" Cobb smiled at the child as he passed him a small hunk of bread. The child babbled happily and gnawed on the bread for a moment before giving both men a toothy grin. "See, he's fine." Cobb laughed as he turned his attention back to whatever he'd stuck in the oven. "Get yourself cleaned up," Cobb nodded toward the bathroom, "he and I will have dinner. Once you're done I can hit the shower myself and give you some time to eat if you're hungry."<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you," was all Din could think to reply. He nodded once and disappeared into the bathroom to wash the day off himself. <br/>
<br/>
Cobb passed the child a slice of fruit as the bathroom door shut quietly. "Your Dad's an interesting guy," he mused quietly as he sat down in the other chair at the kitchen table. "But I guess you knew that already, didn't you?" The child cooed happily as he chewed on the fruit. He reached out his hands, flexing his little claws once he was finished with it and Cobb laughed. He quickly passed him another slice of fruit and the child happily devoured it. <br/>
<br/>
A beeping sound let Cobb know the meal he'd thrown together was finished and he rose to pull it out of the oven. Carefully, he portioned out two plates and brought them to the table. He set the child up on the table top so he could reach his food himself and they both eagerly tore into their dinner. It wasn't long before they had both finished their food and he smiled over at the small, green infant. "You were hungry, huh?" he chuckled as he cleared their plates. <br/>
<br/>
The bathroom door clicked open quietly and Din stepped out, helmet and armor back in place. He set his boots next to Cobb's beside the bookcase.<br/>
<br/>
"Rest of the food's on the counter. He ate pretty well," Cobb explained as he began moving past Din into the bathroom. "I'll knock before I come back out," he said as he shut the bathroom door. <br/>
<br/>
Din stood in the middle of Cobb's home and stared at the closed bathroom door. It wasn't often that he met people who understood his Mandalorian traditions, or even accepted them. That he'd found someone who did, off in the middle of a tiny desert settlement stunned him a bit. He heard the shower turn on and Din shook himself out of his thoughts. He scooped the child off the table and settled him comfortably in one of the chairs in the living space, his silver ball in his lap. Once he was sure the child was occupied, he removed his helmet and ate the dinner Cobb had left for him.<br/>
<br/>
True to his word, about twenty minutes later Cobb knocked on the bathroom door before he cautiously opened it a bit. Din smiled to himself and watched as the other man moved around behind the cracked bathroom door, careful not to peer out into the rest of the house. Din snatched his helmet off the table and slipped it back over his head. "You're fine," he called.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb audibly sighed in relief and walked out of the bathroom, fresh, loose clothing hanging off his lithe body. "You get enough time to eat?" he asked as he ran a hand through his damp hair.<br/>
<br/>
Din nodded. "Yes, thank you."<br/>
<br/>
Cobb smiled and focused his attention on the child, seated happily in one of the chairs in the living space. He sat down on the arm of the chair and stroked his hand over the soft hairs covering his head. The child looked up at him and yawned. "You gettin' tired?" Cobb asked around a chuckle. Immediately, he was on his feet, pulling a blanket off another chair and draping it around the child. "I don't really have anywhere for him to sleep," he said with shrug as he tucked the blanket around the child's tiny body. <br/>
<br/>
"He should be fine there," Din reassured as he settled himself in the chair across from the one the child occupied.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb's eyes raked over Din's body as he shifted in the armchair, obviously attempting to make himself comfortable for the night. "You know, the bed is much more comfortable for folks bigger than a womp rat," he suggested with crooked smile, nodding in the direction of his room.<br/>
<br/>
"I couldn't kick you out of your own bed. You've already done enough giving us a place to stay for the night." Din shifted again in the chair, trying to find a way to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, in that case, I guess we could work something out. Bed's certainly big enough for two." Cobb's brows rose on his forehead as he waited for a response.<br/>
<br/>
Din sat and stared silently at the man standing in front of him. He glanced over at the child and discovered that he'd nodded off, snoring quietly as he clutched the silver ball to his chest. He took a deep breath before he shrugged and stood. "After you," he said, gesturing for Cobb to lead the way to his room.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb stepped through the doorway to his room and flicked on a lamp that sat on a nightstand before he tossed back the blankets on his bed. He sat down on his bed and sighed deeply before he finally allowed himself to lie back against the softness of the mattress. "Make yourself comfortable," he offered as he turned over onto his side, facing the wall. <br/>
<br/>
Din slowly padded over to the bed and lowered himself down onto the mattress. Carefully, he laid down with his back against Cobb's before he tugged the blankets up around his waist. Cobb pulled the blankets up over his own body and reached over to shut the lamp off. The room was cast into darkness and Din let himself relax a bit, his shoulders sagging comfortably against Cobb's. <br/>
<br/>
"Thank you," Din finally murmured as he felt Cobb relax behind him.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course," Cobb whispered back, adjusting the blankets over his body. "Just, uh, promise me you'll take some of the fruit the kid likes with you when you go. There's some left in the kitchen. Can't have him trying to gnaw on a Jawa when you finally catch up with them."<br/>
<br/>
Din smiled harder than he had in a long while. "No, that wouldn't be good." He huffed out a soft laugh, his shoulders brushing against Cobb's again. They settled into a comfortable silence and Din let his eyes drift shut.<br/>
<br/>
Cobb woke early the next morning to an empty bed. He padded through his house and found the blanket the child had slept in folded up and placed over the back of the chair. A few pieces of fruit were missing off the counter, a little bottle of spotchka in their place. Cobb smiled to himself and began to brew some caf for the morning.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I may or may not have written most of this while election drinking (I totally did).</p>
<p>Title is from "All These Things That I've Done" by <i>The Killers</i> cause I sort of listened to it on repeat while working on this. I feel like it works all too well for them.</p>
<p>This pairing is ruining my life. I love it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <a href="https://imwritesometimes.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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